Boris Becker sentencing: Tennis star is jailed for more than two years for bankruptcy offences

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Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker was today jailed for two years and six months for flouting the terms of his bankruptcy by hiding £2.5million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.

The 54-year-old former world number one tennis player was declared bankrupt in June 2017, owing creditors almost £50million over an unpaid loan of more than £3million on his estate in Mallorca, Spain.

BBC commentator Becker, who is a father-of-four, transferred around £390,000 from his business account to others, including those of his ex-wife Barbara Becker and estranged wife Sharlely ‘Lilly’ Becker.

He also failed to declare his share in a £1million property in his home town of Leimen, Germany, hid a bank loan of almost £700,000 – worth £1.1million with interest – and concealed 75,000 shares in a tech firm, valued at £66,000.

Becker – who got a two-year suspended sentence for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion worth £1.4million in Germany in 2002 – was found guilty on April 8 of four Insolvency Act offences between June and October 2017.

Each count carried a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. Judge Deborah Taylor sentenced the six-time Grand Slam champion to 30 months’ imprisonment, of which he will serve half, at Southwark Crown Court today.

Referring to Becker’s previous conviction, the judge said this afternoon: ‘You did not heed the warning you were given and the chance you were given by the suspended sentence and that is a significant aggravating factor.’

And she told Becker: ‘I take into account what has been described as your fall from grace. You have lost your career and reputation and all of your property as a result of your bankruptcy.

‘You have not shown remorse, acceptance of your guilt and have sought to distance yourself from your offending and your bankruptcy. While I accept your humiliation as part of the proceedings, there has been no humility.’

As he was led away, Becker was red-faced and appeared to struggle with his overnight bag. His girlfriend Lilian De Carvalho Monteiro blew him a kiss before he disappeared out of the court to the cells below.

Reacting to the news, Becker’s friend and fellow ex-tennis star Andrew Castle told LBC today: ‘Still reeling from the news this Friday afternoon that Boris Becker – who’s a great mate of mine, I’ve done many Wimbledon finals for him for the BBC, I’ve sat alongside him, I’ve played with him, I’ve practised with him, I’ve been out with him, I’ve been drunk with him, he’s a good man – he’s going to prison for two and a half years. And I’m, look, I’m shocked because it’s close to me. I’m sad that his life has come to this and I hope he’s able to rebuild on the other side.

‘If you don’t pay your creditors, you pay the price. It’s the second time this had happened after what happened in Germany back in 2002. I thought this was a possibility, but I’m surprised and deeply shocked that I won’t be working with him at Wimbledon this year and that he’s going to go to prison. And I feel sorry for Lilian as well.’

Becker had earlier arrived at court with Miss de Carvalho Monteiroa this morning, dressed smartly in a suit and wearing a Wimbledon tie as he walked up the steps and into the building while holding hands with her.

He then entered the dock of the court, while his eldest son came into the courtroom carrying a large Puma-branded bag, which the tennis star had previously been seen carrying outside his home.

This morning, he was seen carrying a green Puma canvas holdall as he stepped out of his West London home and into a black taxi to head to the court. Earlier in the day, he also went out to buy a bouquet of flowers.

Yesterday, Becker spent the day browsing Harrods and visiting an unknown woman in her council flat. The father-of-four was photographed in Knightsbridge, Paddington and Notting Hill.

Wearing a grey jacket and a baseball cap, he was spotted taking a taxi to a council estate in Bayswater to visit a woman before emerging 90 minutes later to go shopping in Harrods – where a guard ushered him in through a side entrance. He later walked home clutching the Puma holdall.

The six-time Grand Slam winner now faces losing lucrative contracts with TV networks around the world, including his job as a BBC pundit at Wimbledon.

On Wednesday, Becker was embraced by his girlfriend as he took a cigarette break during a meeting with documentary maker George Chignell in London. 

And last weekend, he was pictured with estranged wife Lilly and their 12-year-old boy in south London before the father and son met up with Miss de Carvalho Monteiro.

The tennis star, who lived in Monte Carlo and Switzerland before moving to the UK, had previously told the court he had ‘expensive lifestyle commitments’, including a £22,000-a-month rental house in Wimbledon, South West London.

Becker was declared bankrupt on June 21, 2017 over an unpaid loan of more than £3million on his estate in Mallorca. He had been accused of hiding millions of pounds worth of assets, including two Wimbledon trophies, to avoid paying his debts.

He claimed he had cooperated with trustees tasked with securing his assets, even offering up his wedding ring, and had acted on expert advice.

Today, Rebecca Chalkley, prosecuting, told Southwark Crown Court: ‘Looking at the way the case was put and the route to verdict it is the prosecution submission that the jury rejected his case that he did not act dishonestly and must have found that he did’

She continued: ‘None of the money in count four, the money transferred to third parties, was in sterling £390,000. It is the prosecution case the full amount is recoverable or should be accounted for and not just the 50 per cent that Mr Laidlaw submits.

‘It is correct the jury has found the defendant didn’t know about the prescribed period, or they did conclude that the transfer to the other Boris Becker accounts was not concealments but they did find him guilty on transfer to the third parties which are these payments.

‘The transfer of all of the payments the jury must have concluded that it was deliberate and dishonest.

‘Applying the way the case was put, there is a way to see the jury returned the verdicts they did looking at the difference between the prescribed period and the bankrupt period, the third parties and to the separate Boris Becker accounts.’

She said the house in Leimen that has yet to be sold is worth £1.53million.

Ms Chalkley said: ‘The reason the full amount is listed is that he sought to deprive that amount from the estate and at the moment that has not been returned to the creditors.

‘It will be available yes, but there is a distinction to be drawn from the money lost, and in regards to actual money lost is the £390,000 and what was sought to be lost was the £1.53million.’

The Insolvency Service has confirmed Becker is still an undischarged bankrupt and will stay that way until October 2031.

The court was also told today that Becker has ‘fallen from grace’ and ‘will have to rely on the charity of others to survive’.

He has suffered ‘public humiliation’ and has ‘no future’ following his conviction for hiding assets from the Insolvency Service, his barrister said.

He added that his actions were a tragedy, destroying a ‘glittering’ career and has left him with ‘literally nothing’.

Mitigating today, Jonathan Laidlaw QC, said: ‘I submit, and I hope this is not an exaggeration, Boris Becker has literally nothing and there is nothing to show for what was the most glittering of sporting careers.

‘That is nothing short of a tragedy. His fall is not simply a fall from grace but amounts to the most public of humiliations for this man.

‘His degree of suffering is punishment at a level that no other bankrupt in this country is likely to experience. So in terms of the defendant’s future, in reality there is not one.

‘These proceedings have destroyed his career, removed any future prospect of him earning any income and his brand is in tatters. He won’t be able to find work and will have to rely on the charity of others if he is to survive.’

Earlier the court heard he was in ‘desperate financial straits’ and chose who to give money to rather than the trustees in charge of his bankruptcy.

His lawyer has said that he transferred money to ‘settle debts’ and ‘meet his obligations’ to his ex-wife and estranged wife.

He also said Becker now has ‘nothing’ and ‘nothing to show for what was the most glittering of sporting careers’.

The court heard the original bankruptcy including the British private bank Arbuthnot Latham was £49,181,724. Excluding the bank, it was £40,067,065. What has been realised to date is £3.184million.

Mr Laidlaw QC said: ‘He was in desperate financial straits and what in essence he has done and this is the basis of his culpability.

‘He has exercised his own choice to which creditors to pay choosing or preferring to pay monies to dependents allowing than allowing the trustees to choose how that money can be applied.

‘That is a criminal offence, but…this is a very different basis for sentence than has been contended before.’

He added: ‘Would those payments out to others necessarily been disallowed by the trustee in bankruptcy?

‘Against this background plainly the defendant had to continue to support his ex-wife and that would have been consistent with the orders of the court.

‘He was estranged from his then-wife and furthermore with the consent of the joint trustees he had been allowed to continue to work. Almost all of the money falls into those categories.

‘I accept the point you make, and hope the court would also accept, that it is preference the defendant is exercising which is plainly not something he should have done but those payments may have been approved by the trustee in bankruptcy.

‘We’re not concerned about the money being spent on a lavish lifestyle or gambling or something like that.’

Mr Laidlaw also invited the judge to reject that Becker got a mortgage on a house in order to stop creditors from seizing it.

He said: ‘I invite you to reject in round terms the loan, the mortgage, was sought with bankruptcy in mind. That is a submission that must fail.

‘The evidence was the loan was granted on 27 March. That was a month before the petition was presented and two months before he was served with the petition on 28 May. It couldn’t have been a device that the prosecution is suggesting.’

His mitigating lawyer also rejected the prosecutor’s claim that Becker concealed or sought to conceal up to £2 million.

Mr Laidlaw said: ‘It is about 200,000 euros and not at the much higher figure. Most importantly however is about the court’s assessment of liability. It is the court’s judgement is that has these had been declared of the intention of the money it is likely this would have been permitted.’

He continued: ‘There is no evidence of premeditation of the defendant to commit Insolvency Act offences. It is in the evidence of the acquittals and it is clear that he never contemplated to be made bankrupt at all.

‘The reality is the defendant’s finances were a mess. They were chaotic. It is not until mid-July, a month or so into the bankruptcy, that count 4 occurred.

‘There is no evidence of preparation of planning. He told his advisors about Schilling, the loan, and the shares, and if they had been included in the PIQB [preliminary information questionnaire for bankruptcy] he would not have found himself in this court.’

Mr Laidlaw continued: ‘He is not a defendant who brought about his bankruptcy with the intention of committing fraud. He was desperately seeking, however unrealistic he may have been, to avoid such event and he hoped to avoid such event.

‘The culpability in our submission comes to this is he made choices to which debts to pay rather than allowing the joint trustees to make that decision.’

He concluded his mitigation by saying: ‘The defendant has lost literally everything. He has already paid an extremely heavy price in the mismanagement of his affairs in which he has no one to blame but himself.

He added: ‘Despite [Arbuthnot Latham] having been satisfied the defendant still finds himself subject to what is essentially an indefinite bankruptcy order.

‘He has already suffered a heavy price due to the mismanagement of his affairs but also due to this offending. He has or will lose any interest in any other property or asset he has.’

Becker had told jurors his $50million (about £38 million) career earnings were swallowed up by an expensive divorce to his first wife Barbara Becker, child maintenance payments and ‘expensive lifestyle commitments’.

The German national, who has lived in the UK since 2012, said he was ‘shocked’ and ’embarrassed’ when he was declared bankrupt on June 21 2017 over an unpaid loan of more than £3million on his estate in Mallorca.

He claimed he had co-operated with trustees tasked with securing his assets, even offering up his wedding ring, and relied on the advisers who managed his life.

However, Becker, who was supported in court by his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro and eldest son, was found guilty of four charges.

The court heard Becker received 1.13 million euros (about £950,000) from the sale of a Mercedes car dealership he owned in Germany, which was paid into a business account used as a ‘piggy bank’ for his personal expenses.

Becker was found guilty of transferring 427,00 euros (£356,000) to nine recipients, including the accounts of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely ‘Lilly’ Becker, the mother of his fourth child.

He was further convicted of failing to declare a property in his home town of Leimen, hiding an 825,000 euro (almost £700,000) bank loan on the house as well as 75,000 shares in tech firm Breaking Data Corp.

Becker’s mother Elvira Becker, 86, begged a judge not to send her son to jail, saying earlier this month that he is ‘a decent boy overall’, adding: ‘I hope my son doesn’t have to go to prison.’ 

The German national, who has lived in the UK since 2012, claimed he had co-operated with trustees tasked with securing his assets, even offering up his wedding ring, and relied on the advisers who managed his life.

However, Becker, who was supported in court by his partner Ms de Carvalho Monteiro and eldest son, was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act by a jury at Southwark Crown Court on April 8.

They include removal of property, two counts of failing to disclose estate and concealing debt.

Judge Deborah Taylor had released Becker on conditional bail ahead of sentencing today. 

The jury heard Becker received £950,000 from the sale of a Mercedes car dealership he owned in Germany, which was paid into a business account.

Prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley said he used the account as a ‘piggy bank’ for personal expenses, including £7,600 on children’s school fees, almost £1,000 at Harrods, and payments made to Ralph Lauren, Porsche, Ocado and a Chelsea children’s club.

He was found guilty of transferring £356,000 to nine recipients, including the accounts of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely ‘Lilly’ Becker, the mother of his fourth child.

Becker also paid £40,000 for an ankle operation at a private clinic and spent £5,000 at a luxury golf resort in China, the court heard.

He was convicted of failing to declare a property in his home town of Leimen, hiding an £700,000 bank loan on the house as well as 75,000 shares in tech firm Breaking Data Corp.

But Becker was acquitted of a further 20 charges, including nine counts of failing to hand over trophies and medals from his tennis career.

He told jurors he did not know the whereabouts of the memorabilia, including two of his three Wimbledon men’s singles trophies, including the 1985 title that catapulted him to stardom, aged 17.

The other prizes were his 1992 Olympic gold medal, Australian Open trophies from 1991 and 1996, the President’s Cup from 1985 and 1989, his 1989 Davis Cup trophy and a Davis Cup gold coin which he won in 1988.

Becker was cleared of failing to declare a second German property, as well as his interest in the £2.5 million Chelsea flat occupied by his daughter Anna Ermakova, who was conceived during Becker’s infamous sexual encounter with waitress Angela Ermakova at London restaurant Nobu in 1999.

Giving evidence, he said he earned a ‘vast amount’ of money during his career, paying cash for a family home in Munich, a property in Miami, Florida, and the estate in Mallorca, which was worth about 50 million euros at the height of the property market.

But Becker, who went on to coach current world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic, work as a TV sports commentator and act as a brand ambassador for firms including Puma, said his income ‘reduced dramatically’ following his retirement in 1999.

He said he was involved in an ‘expensive divorce’ with ex-wife Barbara in 2001, involving high maintenance payments to their two sons, and had to support his daughter Anna and her mother, in a deal which included the Chelsea flat.

Becker, who was resident in Monte Carlo and Switzerland before moving to the UK, said he had ‘expensive lifestyle commitments,’ including his £22,000-a-month rented house in Wimbledon, south-west London.

He also owed the Swiss authorities five million francs (about £4 million) and separately just under one million euros (more than £800,000) in liabilities over a conviction for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion in Germany in 2002.

The court heard Becker’s bankruptcy resulted from a £3.85 million loan from private bank Arbuthnot Latham in 2013, and £1.2million, with a 25 per cent interest rate, borrowed from British businessman John Caudwell, who founded Phones 4u, the following year.

He said bad publicity had damaged ‘brand Becker’, meaning he struggled to make enough money to pay off his debts, while his QC Jonathan Laidlaw said at the time of his bankruptcy Becker was too ‘trusting and reliant’ on his advisers.